No way around it: The Thunder need to not only bounce back, but bounce back strong. I think the Thunder took the Cavs a bit lightly and while the Bobcats are entirely awful, there’s no excuse not to have this thing wrapped up with about eight minutes to play. If not, that’s not a good thing.

Charlotte coming in: The Bobcats lost against the Nets last night.

1. Focus. If the Thunder are ready to go and into it, there shouldn’t be an issues in dispatching the Bobcats.

2. Focus again. If the Thunder are ready to go and into it, there shouldn’t be an issues in dispatching the Bobcats.

3. Byron Mullens. How long do you guys think his tribute video will be? Five or six minutes?

Liked what I saw out of Cole tonight. Maybe he's finally catching up to the speed of actual games. Also liked Bismack Biyombo. He didn't have much in terms of stats but he's a super athletic dude and he had good hands. I think a couple years down the road he'll be quite solid.

Lost Ones SammyThunderer According to advanced stats Harden has a better TS%, a better Efg% and has a higher Offensive and overall Win share number then Wade. Harden also shot .361 from 3 before this game while wade shot .158,

But wade must be better. because espn says so and the Refs gave him a finals MVP 7 years ago

@Old Man Game I will admit that he's been better on the defensive end out the gate than I expected. That alone should keep him in the league. That said, I thought it was a terrible draft pick. That team is so talent poor. I would have taken any number of players over him.

@Lost Ones In Short Yes. though i think harden is the 2nd Best SG. Ginobili is No1 when healthy.

I Also think the loss's to bad teams are explainable as part of this teams maturation process. Over the Past few years this team has gone from bad to good, part of going from good to great is learning how to put away games against bad teams early and that is what this team is learning this year.

Combine that with the fact that the thunder have been hit by injuries to important players ( Maynor, Sefolosha), that the thunder's best post player is russ, and the only healthy Wing on roster is Lazar. and 2 of the thunders best 4 players are both natural PF's with significant flaws (ibaka's hands, KD's Strength) Yet this Team has the best record in the NBA With good reason.

@jdstorm Your argument was based on TS, eFG and ORTG. The counter is that Wade's USG is about 150% that of Harden's (32.5 vs 21.2). If you do not believe Harden's efficiency numbers would drop to Wade-ish levels at a 32+USG, you are arguing that he can SCORE the ball as well as KD/LeBron.

Also While wade is elite defensively against certain opponents (6'4-6'6 2 guards), he isn't versatile enough to guard PG's of SFs. When wade wasn't playing with a wing defender the Caliber of Lebron or Shaun Marrion 2 of the best most versatile defenders in the NBA the Heat Sucked Defensivly

@SammyThunderer I think Harden is a better creator then KD, thats not exactly a controversial opinion. Given the thunders lack of offense appart from transition and iso ball. I think harden in a better offensive system is a lebron/ginoblli level creator

@jdstorm The idea that Wade is an elite defender isn't exactly a controversial opinion. He was phenomenal for a long time before James arrived in Miami. He's probably the best shot blocking guard of all time. Plus you have to look at Wade's passing. And if you're making the argument that Harden's efficiency wouldn't drop off to about Wade's level at a ~32 USG, you're essentially arguing that Harden is a Durant or Lebron-quality scorer. I'll believe that when I see it.

@justin_mia@David_MN@SammyThunderer While Wade's basketball reference defensive ranking is better. 99 to hardens 105. OKC doesn't have a defender of Lebron's Caliber to take all the hardest defensive assignments. When Was the Last time wade took the No 1 defensive assignment in miami.

And Harden has managed to stay efficient with an increased usage rate, and despite having to go 1 on 5 against second units most nights when russ and KD are getting a breather. but wade is obviously better